Broken
by Emeralds and Rubies
Summary: After a breakup, Nancy finds comfort in someone she's loved for a while. Things are great until the words her ex said come back to haunt her. The mystery that follows is almost too much for her to handle. Please let me know what you think!
1. Chapter 1

Broken

**Chapter 1**

"Great work, Drew, Hardys." Detective Jones congratulated them, as he slammed the police car's door shut and hit the back twice. "You do know that they were numbers three and four on America's most wanted list."

Nancy blushed. "I couldn't have done it on my own."

"You're too modest, Nancy. Sooner or later you're going to have to take some credit." Jones smiled and stuck out his hand.

Nancy shook it. "Pleasure working with you."

"You, too."

"Cheers!" Bess Marvin said as they sat at one of the tables at the River Heights Ice Cream Parlor.

"Bess, What are we supposed to do? Clink our ice cream cones together?" George asked raising an eyebrow at her friend.

"well, it's the thought that counts." Nancy intervened, before the cousins could start bickering.

"Ok. So, in celebration of Nancy, Frank, and Joe's most amazing case yet, why don't we go check out that hot new dance club after this." George asked.

"I'm in." Frank agreed.

"Me too." Ned said, quickly after.

Nancy shot Ned an annoyed look as Bess and Joe agreed to come also. She was so tired of him being jealous of Frank, and being overprotective of her. He never let Nancy be alone if Frank was somewhere within a two mile radius.

'_Gods, he's getting on my nerves!' _Nancy thought angrily.

Lately, she had been thinking that about him a lot more.

Nancy danced in Ned's arms as a slow song played. Everything had been going fine, and she hoped it would stay that way.

She tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. Ned had stiffened at her action.

"What?" She asked, confused. She let left her hand fall from her ear, but he caught it and lifted it back up to look at it, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

"What's this?" he asked.

She looked at her hand. "Um . . . blue nail polish?"

He took her arm and pulled her off the dance floor. "No, I mean, _why_ on _earth_ are you wearing that damned ring?"

Her heart stopped. "Ned… it's just-."

"It's just the ring that you wore when you pretended to be Frank _fricken _Hardy's wife!" He shouted at her.

"Ned! What are you-?"

"No. That's it Nan. I've put up with this for years! Years! I've trusted you when you said that you didn't have _any_ feelings for him."

"No." She whispered, knowing what was next.

"Nancy, I can't do this anymore. We've been together for years, and there's no way I want to end this," he said quietly. "But, I can't have my girlfriend in love with someone else, and then lying to me about it. Nancy. You have to make a choice. Frank, or me." He was shouting again.

"I'm not in love with Fr-"

"Yes, you are. Now choose, him or me" his tone very demanding.

"You want me to choose between one of my best friends and my boyfriend." She said, as her eyes narrowed. It was more a statement that a question.

"Yes."

"Well I don't know if I'm picking Frank or not, but no boyfriend of mine is going to talk to me that way!" She shouted. "So, even if I did pick you it would only last long enough for me to say that we are over!" She yelled, as she yanked the promise ring that he gave her during senior year off the silver chain around her neck, and threw it at him.

"Fine. But, you know what? It's safer for me if it ends this way. You are always dragging me into your little cases to put some bad guy in jail. I am always getting hurt. So are Bess and George! And it won't be long until _you _and _your_ cases, gets one of us killed." He shouted.

And with that he stormed off into the star-filled night, and stormed out of her life.

Nancy walked back into the packed night club in tears to find Bess and George franticly looking for her.

"Oh, Nancy, there you are! we've been looking for you." George said as she spotted Nancy. "What's wrong?" She asked when she saw the tears in her eyes.

Just then, Frank and Joe came up to them.

"Nancy! I've - I mean – we've been so worried." he said as he hugged her close, like Ned used to after she had been in danger..

She tried to hold back the tears again, but she couldn't take it anymore. She started sobbing into his shirt.

"Nan? What's wrong? Where's-?" but he stopped as it donned him what had happened. "Oh. Nan, I'm so sorry." He said, as he hugged her even closer and let her cry.

Frank rang the Drew's doorbell as he held Nancy in his arms.

Carson Drew opened the door because, Frank realized, it was Hannah's day off.

"Frank! What brings you he-' he stopped as he saw his daughter being carried like a baby in the young man's arms. "Is she alright?" his voice had a worried tone to it as he opened the door wide enough for Frank to enter.

"Yes, she's fine." He answered as he entered the house that he was now familiar with. "she's just asleep. She fell asleep on the way home. And, with the way Joe drives, well that was a pretty amazing feet. With the day she had, the case and . . . uh . . . everything, we decided not to wake her up."

"We?" Carson asked him as he led them up the stairs and to Nancy's room.

"We. Bess, George, Joe, and I." Frank answered.

Mr. Drew opened the door to his daughter's bedroom for Frank.

Frank walked in and laid her down on her bed, only a little bit grateful to be relieved of his burden.

Frank bent over and gave Nancy a tender kiss on the cheek. "'Night, Nan."

Carson hid his grin as he saw Frank kiss his daughter. There had always been something he had liked better about Frank than Ned. He just still didn't know what it was yet.

As the two men walked back down the stairs, Carson said, "Thank you for doing this Frank."

Carson noticed the slight blush that crept up on Frank's cheeks. "You're welcome, sir." Frank answered.

"I'll probably stop by with Joe, Bess, and George tomorrow. Just to check on her. You know, see how she's holding up." Frank said as he stepped back onto the porch.

"Feel free to come over whenever." Mr. Drew said, and, as an afterthought, "Holding up?" He questioned.

Frank looked at Mr. Drew, and his voice took on a bitter tone. "Ned." Was all he said. It was amazing how one word could explain so much.

"Oh." Mr. Drew said. He looked into Frank's eyes. Young, un-admitted, love met the love of a father, and an understanding of exactly what had happened passed between the two.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow, Mr. Drew" Frank said.

"Good night Frank."

"Good night, sir." Frank said. He walked out of the porch light when he stepped onto the driveway, so Carson could only picture the look on the boy – no – man's face.

Frank opened the car door and got in. Bess, Joe, and George shouted their goodbyes to Mr. Drew, before pulling out of the driveway and driving off.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

AN: Thanks for the great reviews! This chapter is mostly fluff. The next chapter will start the action. And, I know that some of you won't like how I characterize Callie. I know that she's sweet an' all . . . but, I just had to do it. Please, no flames. PS: could you pretend the gang lives in the present?  PSS: Lindsey Haun owns these lyrics, not me. I don't own the Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew, or any other of the original characters.

The next day, Bess and George got to the Drew residence about two hours before the Hardys, at 10:00 a.m.

They let themselves in, having been told many times that they didn't need to knock because they were practically family.

As they walked up the stairs, they could hear Nancy's radio playing. They walked into her room, wondering how Nancy was dealing with the breakup.

She laid on her bed, listening to her favorite country station.

"When you're Broken,

In a million little pieces,

And you're trying,

But you can't hold on anymore . . ."

Bess turned off the radio and sat on her friend's bed. "Hey, Nan."

"Hey."

The three sat together in comfortable silence. It had been going on for five minutes, before. . .

"That's it." George said, "I'm not usually the type to do this, but we are going to give you the full spa treatment. Even I stop thinking, when Bess forces me to do that."

"Yeah, Nan," Bess agreed quickly. Her eyes were alight with excitement. "We'll make you look more georgous than you already are. If that's possible."

Nancy smiled at her friends. "Ok." She agreed. "What could it hurt?"

Bess squealed and ran down for a cucumber.

Two hours later, Nancy was in a much better mood. Even though she thought Bess had applied way too much makeup, she felt good.

A knock came from the doorway.

"Come in!" George called, done putting the "finishing touches" on her friend.

Frank and Joe stepped into the room.

"Hey guys." Nancy said, as she took a bite into one of the cucumber slices Bess had put on her eyes.

"Hey, Nan." Frank smiled at her.

"We brought food." Joe said as he moved his hands from behind his back, and produced a box of pizza and a two-liter bottle of Dr. Pepper.

Bess and George leapt from their spots on the bed, having worked up quite an appetite.

Joe, bess, and George went over to Nancy's desk to eat, as Frank went over to Nancy.

She was half laying, half sitting on the left side of the bed, so he climbed over her and half laid half sat next to her.

"So." Nancy said, turning towards him.

"Hey," he said, doing the same. "How are you?"

"Ok" she answered, shuddering when she felt his warm, minty breath on her skin. Her thoughts went into a danger zone, and she forced herself not to think about Frank like that.

"How's Callie?" she asked. _Perfect. Talk about the girlfriend._

"Well. . . "

"Frank, you can tell me." Her voice had a tone of no nonsense

"She's. . . Pregnant." His voice was bitter. "And it's not mine."

"What?- I-I mean, are you sure."

"It's kind of hard for you to get someone pregnant if you never – you know."

Suddenly, it clicked. Frank never made love with Callie. So that meant, "She cheated on you." It was more a statement, than a question.

He just nodded.

"That bi-" Nancy started.

"Nancy!" Frank interrupted, trying not to laugh.

"Well! I mean, really. She doesn't know how great of a guy she had. If I would have been dating you-"She stopped, terrified at what she was going to say.

Frank's eyes widened, but he couldn't help but smile. He looked in her eyes and his smile widened.

He reached up and cupped her cheek with his left hand. There was only about an inch between their lips. "What would you do?" he whispered.

Her eyes flickered up to his, a hint of fear in them.

"I-would have-d-done this." She decided just to do it, no thinking.

She closed the distance between them and they kissed softly.

**Nancy POV**

Her body tingled with pleasure, as his lips moved slowly against hers.

_I'm kissing Frank, I'm kissing Frank . . . I never thought I would really get to say that!_

_Gods, this feels so good! Way better than Ned, and nicer. . . and way more handsome. . . _

**Frank POV**

Frank wrapped his arms around Nancy's neck, and tangled his hands into her hair.

_Man, she feels so good. I've wanted to do this for ever! And she's so beautiful, even more so without all the makeup that Bess put on her. And she's nice, and funny, and smart. . . You did good, Hardy, you did good._

_**Normal POV**_

When the kiss broke, he wrapped his arms around her waste and pulled her close.

"Nan, please say that meant something to you."

"That definitely meant something to me." She whispered

"So . . . does this mean we're dating?" He asked hopefully.

"If you think that I doesn't . . ." she let the threat hang in the air.

"Good." He said, and kissed her again.

What finally broke them apart was the sound of something heavy falling at the other side of the room.

They looked up, lips slightly swollen, at their friends. Bess, Joe, and George stared at them, not even moving to pick up the, thankfully closed, soda bottle that Joe had dropped when he saw his brother making-out with one of his best friends. The three all grinned and looked at each other.

"Yes!"

"Well, it's about time!"

And, "Finally!" were all exclaimed at once.

The three started laughing at the others' outbursts, while Frank and Nancy just smiled, blushed, and kissed once more.

AN2: Questions? Comments? REVIEWS? Just press the pretty blue button, and tell me about them.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3-

Three months later

"Come on, Frank. Stop. I'm trying to work" Nancy whined half-heartedly as he traced kisses down her neck. She was sitting at her desk in her new apartment that she had moved in about two months ago. It was pretty nice, and she liked that it was just across the street from her father's office building.

Frank sighed and pulled back. "Ok. How's the paperwork coming?" he asked as he looked over her shoulder.

"Fine, but I need to finish it. I've been putting it off for days."

Three weeks ago, they had solved another case together. Someone had been stalking her. At first, it had been innocent enough. Just little notes at her door, or at her desk at the detective agency, that said things about her that nobody else had known. Scary. But then, things had gotten worse. Those notes had turned into death threats. And they had started showing up in her car, or on the table in her, very locked, apartment.

So, with Frank and Joe's help, she had started an investigation. It took a while, but they had finally nabbed the guy. Kevin Ferall. He had a record of assult, murder, attempted murder, and now, stalking. Unfortunately, he had escaped from prison a week ago. Nothing has happened yet, but Nancy was keeping her eyes open.

"Done!" Nancy exclaimed, ten minutes later.

Frank spun her chair around, and smiled. "Finally!" he laughed before he continued to kiss her thoroughly.

After making-out for about 10 minutes, Frank pulled back and sighed. He looked into nancy's blue eyes and smiled. "I love you, Nancy." He said.

Nancy's eyes widened, but her lips formed into a smile. "I love you, too Frank."

He kissed her once more, before getting up. "I better get going. Joe and I need to finish cleaning the apartment, before mom comes over for a surprise visit, and yells at us for being slobs."

Nancy laughed. "Yeah, you better do that."

They kissed goodbye, and Frank had started to close the door when they heard a loud explosion coming from across the street.

Nancy ran to the window with Frank close behind. The fire-trucks had already arrived and were trying to put out the flames. Her dad's law firm! She counted how many stories high and rooms across, to see which office it was. She knew before she had counted. It was her dad's.

**AN: Hey! The prodigal author has returned! Sorry about the wait. My great-grandmother died and all our relatives came out for the funeral. Then, my dad came out here for a visit. Gag. Then I was on vacation for a week,("No computer, honey"), and now I'm in bed with the flu (I got the flu on va-k). Oh well. I know it's short, but it's all I could do at the moment. I Really want five reviews before I update. Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Nancy ran out the door to her apartment without looking back. She didn't even think to grab a coat, even though it had started to flurry earlier, but luckily she had her shoes already on. Honestly though, she didn't know weather or not she would have noticed if she didn't. All she could think was _Dad. Fire. No._

When she got across the street she had to push her way through the crowd that started forming. She looked at one of the officers ushering back the crowd.

"Let me through!" she shouted over the noise.

The officer looked at her. "I'm afraid that I can't do that, ma'am. I-'

She cut him off. "That's my father's office!" She screamed. Tears starting to run down her face. "Carson Drew. Please, I need to get through!"

The officer let her through immediately, and she ran to the fireman that was supervising the others that were putting out the last of the flames.

"What happened?" she asked.

The officer looked at her. He apparently decided that he could tell her because she had been let through the boundaries. "A bomb was set off."

"We'll do you have any leads?" Nancy practically screamed.

"I'm sorry ma'am. We don't"

"Did you get anyone out?" Nancy heard Frank's voice ask behind her, and she figured he had been there the whole time, and had followed her out of her apartment.

"Everything except the people inside the office that was bombed. I won't have much more information for a while, so if you could..?" he gestured towards the sidewalk.

"Thank you, officer." Frank said as he pulled Nancy away.

They sat on the curb, and watched helplessly as the firefighters entered the building to see the damage. Frank put an arm around Nancy as silent tears continued to streak down her face. An idea came into frank's mind, and he asked Nancy if she had her cell phone with her.

"Sure." Nancy said no emotion in her voice. She handed it to him.

He scrolled through her contacts and pressed talked on 'Home'.

"Miss Gruen?" He asked when the Drew's housekeeper answered the phone.

"Frank Hardy." Her voice sounded stern. "I told you, call me Hannah."

"Sorry, Hannah. Um… have you, by chance heard from Mr. Drew this afternoon?" he asked.

"Actually, I have. You just missed him. He called from the office about twenty minutes ago and said that he would have to work late tonight. Why?" she asked, sounding worried. "Has something happened?"

"Well. Yes." He started, not knowing how to say this. "At the office… a bomb… you really should get down here as soon as you can." He finished.

The woman gasped. "I'll be down in fifteen minutes." She hung up the phone.

"What'd she say?" Nancy asked, looking at Frank.

He wiped on of her tears away with the pad of his thumb. "She'll be here soon."

He put his arms around her, as a fresh wave of sobs took over her, and let her cry on his shoulder.

"Nancy! Frank!" he heard someone shouting from behind. Bess and George were standing behind the same officer that had let Nancy and Frank in. The officer looked at him for confirmation, and he nodded. As soon as they were let through, they rushed over to the couple.

"We came down as soon as we heard." George, putting her hand on her friend's shoulder.

They sat beside Nancy and gave her comfort and support as Frank filled them in on what they knew so far. They sat there together in silence.

The flames had been out for a while, and things were starting to calm down. Hannah had just arrived and was being filled in when the officer Nancy and frank had talked to earlier came over to them. "Ms. Drew, is it?" he asked

Nancy nodded.

"We need you to come and identify the office. We found a body, but it was a woman's. We need to know if it is in fact your—um--father's, office."

Nancy numbly followed the officer, with Frank close behind.

As they entered the office Nancy couldn't even recognize it. It was her father's, yes, but it was still barely recognizable. Everything was either scorched, or ashes. The secretary's desk was blackened, and falling apart and the leather chair for clients to wait on were completely in ashes. Her father's actual office was even worse. The only things that weren't completely in ashes were his bookshelf, the books on the book shelf (burnt, but readable), and the golden nameplate that had been on his desk.

"This is his." She told the officer, handing the nameplate to him. "Proof." She said sadly.

-

Nancy took the hottest shower of her life that night.

After they had confirmed the office, the five walked back to Nancy's apartment. She had all six of them (Joe showed up after they came out of the building) stay the night.

She had been physically unable to cry anymore as of an hour ago. She wanted to cry, but her body wouldn't let her. The tears just wouldn't come.

Frank had forced her to eat some dinner that night, even if had just been a couple pieces of bread.

Her skin was red when she finally got out of the shower. She changed in there, since she had company, and walked into her living room with her pajamas and a robe on.

Her guests were sitting on her couch, silently watching some show on the Disney Channel.

"Aren't we a little old for this?" She asked, sitting down on her boyfriend's lap.

Despite the situation, Frank smiled.

"Well, sports were over ruled…" Joe said

"…And we refused to watch Derek McHottie or Mc-whatever they call him on that show." Frank added.

"McDreamy." The girls, including Hannah, excluding Nancy, chorused.

"What? All I had to hear was some guy saying 'McDreamy did a McNasty with a McHottie? That McB!' Before I knew we needed to change the channel."

"I liked them cutting people open, though" Joe added.

"And we aren't going to watch the news…"

"So, you compromised." Nancy said.

"Pretty much."

Even though so much had happened that day, she was glad her friends were there to help her.

-

The next morning, Nancy got up early. She was surprised to see Frank already up.

"Morning, love." He said, kissing her on the cheek.

"Morning." she said.

Her eyes were puffy. She could cry again.

The light on her answering machine was flashing, so she hit play.

"One new message." The automated voice said. "Received, 5:22 a.m."

Another voice filled the kitchenette. "Well, Nancy. Do you remember me?" she had to grip the counter to not fall over at the sound of that deep, raspy, smoker's voice. Kevin. "Long time, no see. You're father's a charming man. It's been a pleasure to meet him. Oh, yes, I have him. And a grudge. Don't try to trace this call. It won't get you anywhere. Since you were such a _great_ little detective last time, why don't you try to figure me out this time? You have 'till Saturday to find me. If you don't, well… what would they call it in that show you were talking about last night? Oh, yeah. Code Black…for your father." The message ended.

Nancy looked at Frank. Panic was in her eyes.

"This will be interesting." He said. "Let's wake everyone up. We have some work to do."

**AN: Mwh-ha-ha-ha-ha! ;) I made it extra long because last chapter was so short**. **100 points and a reward to everyone who can tell me what show I was talking about, what character said that thing about McDreamy doing a McNasty, AND what code black is. I really hope you know this. Other than that, PLEASE leave a normal review, also.**

**Thanks,**

**E and R**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"So, what do we know right now?" Asked Joe, as he paced the living room.

Nancy, Frank, And Joe were the only ones at the apartment. They had sent Bess, George, and Hannah home early this morning, in spite of their protests. There was too much to worry about, to keep them from worrying.

"Kevin Ferall…" Nancy started to explain, before Joe cut her off.

"The stalker dude?" Joe asked.

"Yes, Joe." Frank said, sounding like he was talking to a three year old.

Nancy stood up and paced back and forth in front of the television. They were sitting on the couches, trying to figure out their next move.

"We know he has dad. He's told us it won't do any good to trace the call. He's threatened to blow dad up if we don't find him by Saturday. He said it wouldn't do us any good tracing the call. But… the weird thing is that he didn't say what would happen if I did find him." Nancy explained.

"Nancy…" Frank started. "He plans on killing your father whether you find him or not. He just wants you to get your hopes up, and then have them be crushed."

Nancy turned to him, a gleam in her eyes. "We can't have that happen." She said, her voice rising with every word.

"Calm down, Nan." Joe said.

"Don't tell her to calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down." Frank and Nancy snapped at him at the same time. Frank had learned his lesson from that, _years_ ago.

"Ok, Nan. Let's just think. Is there a way to trace a message?" Joe asked.

"We can't use redial," Frank mused. "That only works with the last number _you_ dial.

"Well…we could, if…oh my god!" Nancy said. She ran to the phone and checked it. No Missed Calls, it read

"Oh! Please say they activated it!" She pleaded to nobody as she punched in three numbers. 69.

"Please, please, please." She kept muttering as the phone rang. She put it on speaker and the three listened and waited for an answer.

"Hello?" asked a woman's confused voice on the other line.

"Yes, this is Nancy Drew. Who am I speaking to?"

"Uh, well this isn't a land line this is a payphone." The woman was confused when the 'Nancy' let out a loud "Yes!"

Nancy calmed down. "Could you please give me the cross streets for this phone?" She asked.

"Uh…sure. It's on the southeast corner of Mason and Olive." The woman answered.

"Thank you so much!" Nancy said. "You've been a great help." She hung up the phone. and turned to the boys. "Let's go!" She said, as she crabbed her long trench-style coat and sneakers.

"Where?" asked Frank and Joe, as they followed her.

"Mason and Olive."

-

The only things they found at the phone were two sets of snowy footprints. One set led to the street (assumedly their friend that had answered the phone). The other led down the alley, but ended as the snow wore off of the person's (most likely Kevin's) feet.

"Well." Joe said, "I'd say he's somewhere within a five to ten mile radius. He broke out of jail. There's a warrant for his arrest, so he couldn't have rented a car. It's not like he could make it very far with your father."

"Let's follow the footprints." Frank said. "Even though they stop, we can check it out down there."

They followed the footprints and looked around where they stopped. Everything looked normal except that there was a door cracked open to the down an alley to the left of where the footprints ended.

They slowly approached the door, and Frank kicked it open all of the way.

It looked like an old storage room/garage. A lot of snow had blown in from the door open, but other than that there wasn't much in it. There was a few big of crates, and an old wooden chair, but that was it.

The three detectives checked around the crates. "Look at this!" Frank said.

One of the crates was opened, and inside was boxes of snacks and bottled water, much of which was half eaten. They looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

"Help me move these." Frank said. Together they managed to move apart some of the crates. What they found was a hallow space about big enough to fit a grown man and a child.

Nancy spotted something shiny in the corner of the space. She picked it up.

"They were definitely here." She announced.

"How do you know it was them?" Frank asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

She handed him the item. A watch. He turned it over. Property of: Carson Drew, Love always, Nancy, was engraved on the back.

After Joe looked at the watch himself, he looked at the couple.

"Let's go to the agency. We can run a background check on Ferall, and see if anything interesting that we didn't know comes up."

They drove to the agency in silence.

AN: The search begins! I hope you like it. Be looking for a prequel, of sorts, that is being written by the great DeanParker, called _Past is Dead, Present Stalked, Future Unknown..._! It is the story of the stalker case, and what led up to it. Trust me, it will be good. Thanks for all the reviews! KimmyD is our winner! The answer to the question was…drum roll… 'Grey's Anatomy'. George O'Malley said the McDreamy comment, and a Code Black means there is a bomb. The only thing KimmyD got wrong was that it was George said the comment, not Alex. Her reward... this chapter! Please review. I would like six reviews before I update!

Thanks,

E and R

Ps. To see Nancy's coat, go to….


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The trio arrived at a small brick building at about 8:00 a.m. Their agency. The sign out front said _Hardy and Drew Detective Agency._

Frank got out of the car and opened the door for Nancy, as Joe unlocked the agency's front door. As they walked through the door, Nancy noticed that Joe left the OPEN sign on closed. She knew he did it so they wouldn't be disturbed for a while. _Well, that was smart, _she thought. They walked past their secretary's empty desk and into their office.

There office was very large. They each had their own desk in it. Nancy's was against the right wall, Frank's against the wall across from the door, and Joe's against the left wall.

They had thought it would be best to share an office, instead of having their own. That way they were close, so it would be easier if they were working on the same case.

Nancy went to her desk, and turned on her computer. Frank and Joe looked at her from across the room.

"Is she ok?" Joe asked quietly, so Nancy wouldn't hear.

"No." Frank answered dully.

"Well…it's just…shouldn't she be crying her eyes out, or be a nervous wreck? I mean…that sounds mean but…First her father's dead, and then we find out that this horrible man, whose committed murder actually has her dad."

"It's ok," Frank answered quietly. "I know what you mean. I don't really thing it's fully hit her yet. She's blocking out the worry with determination. That's just how she is. I think that's why she isn't showing much emotion."

The brothers shared a look. "I just want her to be ok." Joe said, "I love her like a sister! And Carson… he's a second father to us. You know?"

"Yeah… I know. Especially since we started dating." Frank said sadly.

They stood looking at Nancy in silence.

"Let's go help." Frank whispered.

They walked over to Nancy, who was just sitting and waiting for the background check to finish.

"Hey." Frank said, standing behind her and putting a hand on her shoulder. "Find anything?" he asked.

"Not yet." Nancy said, turning around in her spinning chair to look at him.

Joe sat on the corner of her desk, a look of concentration on his face. "Hey!" he said suddenly. "That message. Didn't it say something like… 'What would they call it in that show you were talking about last night? Oh, yeah. Code Black'?"

"Yeah… It means that there is an explosive device." Frank said. "Nancy said that earlier."

"No! I know that. But don't you get what it means?" Joe asked.

"Uh… no." Frank and Nancy said at the same time.

Joe's face was grave. "The only way that he could know what we were talking about is if-"

"-He was spying on us." Frank and Nancy said, at the same time.

"But how?" Nancy asked, frustration clear on her face. "I mean, my apartment's on the third floor. And, we were in the living room. He wouldn't be able to here from the door because weren't being that loud. The only way would be with a bug. But I don't leave a spare key anywhere, and the lock hasn't been tampered with."

The boys shook their heads in confusion. The computer made a noise and Nancy turned back around to see the results.

She scrolled through the information.

"Killed his wife…attempted murder…stalking. We know that. Um…hey look at this!" Nancy said. Frank and Joe got up and looked at the computer screen.

"His brother was released from jail four months ago. Released early for good behavior. He was in for committing rape, and murder." Joe read off the screen.

"Not good." Frank said, and Nancy nodded.

"Let's talk about this. It changes everything." Joe said pulling over his and Frank's chairs.

They put their chairs around Nancy's so that they formed a triangle. They looked at each other, no one talking, as the computer ran a check on Kevin's brother Paul Ferall.

"So he has a brother that's messed up, too." Joe commented wryly, breaking the silence.

"That could change a lot." Frank said. "What it changes? We won't know until the computer is finished."

They waited in silence, Nancy staring out the window, Frank staring at the computer, and Joe staring at his hands in his lap.

When the computer dinged, they all rushed to the computer. "We know about the rape and the murder." Nancy said when she saw that that was the first thing on the page.

"Look!" Frank said, leaning over Nancy's shoulder and reading the screen aloud. "He rented a car from Hertz on Monday the15th. That was two days ago." Frank looked from his brother to his girlfriend. "That was the day before the bombing."

They sat back down on the chairs and looked at each other. "Joe…" Nancy started. "You said that he probably was within five to ten miles of the phone booth. We thought that that was confirmed when we found the warehouse, but… what if Kevin had an accomplice?" Nancy looked at the brothers to see what they thought.

"Paul." They said in unison.

"Yes. I mean…think about it." Nancy said. "Wouldn't it be hard for one person to sneak into my dad's office, without Rose the secretary noticing, get him out without Rose noticing, and bomb the office?"

"That changes a lot." Frank said, looking up at Nancy.

Nancy looked back at the computer, and scrolled down the page. She looked at the picture of Paul and gasped. "No way." She muttered.

"What?" Frank asked, coming back to the computer. He looked at the picture. Paul didn't look a lot like his brother. Paul had a round face, long black hair and brown eyes. While his brother had a squarish face, short black hair, and a scar the ran from above his eyebrow to his chin.

"Paul. He was in my apartment the other day."

"WHAT?" Frank and Joe practically shouted.

"You remember when the kitchen sink was broken last week?"

"Don't tell me..." Frank said.

"Plumber." Nancy confirmed.

"Why's it always the plumber?" Joe muttered.

Nancy and Frank just glared at him. "Just asking." He said defencively.

"Anyway.. he could have planted a bug in the kitchen without you even realizing it." Frank said.

"I know." Nancy said, putting her head in her hands. This had all been planned. The words that Ned said when they broke up rank in her ears...'You are always dragging me into your little cases to put some bad guy in jail. I am always getting hurt. So are Bess and George! And it won't be long until _you _and _your_ cases, gets one of us killed.' This is my fault, She thought. Tears started to leak out of her eyes, against her will.

"Let's go to the rental place." Joe said, pulling Nancy out of her thoughts. She quickly wiped away her tears, so they wouldn't notice them.

"Yeah. Maybe the guy can tell us some information. If we get the license plate number, we can report it to the cops." Frank said.

"No!" Nancy said forcefully. They looked at her, surprised. "We can't get the authorities involved." She said.

"It's ok, Nan." Frank said gently. He knew she was worried about what would happen to her father if the kidnappers found out about them contacting the police

"Yeah," Joe said. "All we'll tell them is that it is the license plate of a private case that Hardy and Drew Detective Agency is working on. Ok?"

Nancy looked hesitant, but agreed.

As Nancy shut down her computer, they could hear their secretary opening the door to the office. Nancy glanced at her watch. 9:00.

They walked out and greeted their secretary Karen.

"Hey." Nancy said to the twenty year old girl. "We need to be out today. We don't have any appointments, do we?"

"No." Karen said. "But you have a couple tomorrow." She had their appointments memorized.

Nancy looked at Frank and Joe for confirmation, before telling her to reschedule any appointments that weren't urgent. Luckily, none of them were.

Nancy and frank walked out to the car while Joe said something to Karen.

"What'd you say?" Frank asked curiously, as he backed up the car.

Joe grinned. "Told her I might not be able to make our date tonight."

Frank and Nancy laughed. "Only you could think about a date during a serious case." Nancy said, smiling genuinely for the first time today.

"Glad I could help with your moods." Joe said mock-hurt to Frank and Nancy.

"Whatever." They said.

AN) Sorry about the delay. Thanks for the reviews! I would like at least five more before I update

Emeralds and Rubies


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**AN: Thanks for all the reviews! I'm very sorry about the delay. Why do teachers assign summer reading anyway? Oh, well. Pleeeaaase review!**

"How may I help you today?" asked the man, standing behind the counter at Hertz car rentals. The three detectives were the only people in the store, and Nancy was grateful. They didn't need anybody hearing this

Nancy looked at the man, as Frank explained who they were that they needed some information on one of their customers. He was older. About 45, she guessed. His hair was thinning, and she could tell that he had been trying to hide the grey patches on his head by dying his hair blond. Large glasses covered his blue eyes, and silver crucifix hung around his large neck.

"Well, Mr. Hardy, I usually can't disclose any information about the clients here at Hertz, but since you're from the detective agency…I might just be able to help you. But first, do you have any I.D. on you?" The man, Leigh according to his nametag, asked the three.

They all produced their drivers' licenses. "What was the man's name, you say?" Leigh asked, after checking their IDs.

"Paul Ferall. F-E-R-A-L-L." Nancy answered.

Leigh typed in the name and the trio waited anxiously.

"Here we are!" Leigh said loudly as the name popped up o his screen. "Mr. Ferall was in here two days ago."

"Yes, but can you tell us what kind of car he rented? And, possibly the plate number?" Joe asked.

He nodded. "Surely. It was a blue, 1998, Chevy Cavalier. Plate number 637-TE8."

Nancy, Frank, and Joe thanked him for his help, jotted down the information, and left.

Nancy checked her cell-phone for the time. 12:30 on the dot.

"Well… we know one thing's for certain." Joe said, breaking the thick silence that had fallen in the car.

"Yeah?" Nancy asked.

"They definitely had this planned. I mean…we kind of knew that, but there's no other explanation." Joe said.

"Yeah." Frank agreed. "It could be a coincidence, but I've learned that in cases, nothing is a coincidence."

They stopped to eat lunch at the little café around the corner from their agency. The boys discussed the case quietly, and Nancy was on her laptop, occasionally making a comment or remarks on what one them said.

To a passerby, it looked as if she was doing serious research, or something else that took a lot of effort, because of the concentrated look on her face. But, she wasn't. All she was doing was playing her favorite word game. It helped her mind relax, and forget about everything else, which, Nancy had come to find, helped her to concentrate even more on the case. You see, Nancy had found that her mind was like the peg game that was on the tables at Cracker Barrel. She could figure it out if she wasn't concentrating on it 100.

Frank and Joe knew their friend meant business when she pulled out old Chictionary, so they didn't ask her opinion on what they were saying.

"First thing that we need to do is destroy the bug." Joe said, leaning back in his chair, and peering at his older brother intently.

"Ok," He said slowly. "But what will we do after that. We've pretty much hit a dead end."

"I don't know." Joe said. "But we have to think of something." He said more determinedly that he felt.

After they had destroyed the bug (which had been placed on the top ledge of the drawer under the stove that didn't open), Frank and Joe made a quick trip down to their apartment to get a change of clothes.

When they left, Nancy looked around her apartment, and the memories overwhelmed her. She could see her dad, sitting on the couch, laughing at something Frank or Joe had said, helping her carry her boxes of 'serious crime solving equipment a.k.a.: junk' into her apartment when she moved in, telling her how proud he was of her. The memories went on and on. Nancy gripped a table for support, tears streaming down her face.

She fell to her knees and let out a sob. _This is all my fault_. She thought, as she continued to break down. _Ned was right. It was only a matter of time before something like this happened. She as good as got her father kidnapped._ She had put her head in her arms, still sobbing, when she heard the door open.

"Nancy? What happened?" It was Frank's voice.

He rushed over to her, picking her up and holding her in his arms as she sobbed. He sat down on the sofa quietly. She wrapped her arms around his neck and cried into his shoulder, holding onto him as if he was her only lifeline.

Frank whispered soft words of comfort as she had her break down.

"Frank, it's all of my fault. I was so stupid. Why can't I be normal?" Nancy asked, once she had calmed down

"Nancy…it's not your fault." Frank started, wiping the last of her tears away. "You need to understand that. You are nothing close to stupid. And, Nancy? If you were 'normal'…" Frank raised his eyebrows at her and used a pair of air quotes around the word normal. "…Than you wouldn't be Nancy. All those guys you got in jail…they would still be out in the world causing horrible things to happen. Mysteries are part of you, part of the girl that I'm in complete and total love with. You know that you wouldn't be able to live without your mysteries."

He kissed her sweetly and looked her straight in the eyes, an expression of sadness and concern on his face. "Ned really did do a number on you when you broke up, didn't he?" he asked quietly.

Nancy looked down. "Yeah… He said that I was always dragging him, Bess, and George into my mysteries, and it was only a matter of time that I and one of my cases got one of them killed."

Frank's brown eyes that were usually so full of love, darkened. "If I ever see that …" He didn't finish his own sentence, as he pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her. "Nancy, I love you. If Ned could say something so horrible…he couldn't have ever felt the way he said he did about you, or anyone, for that matter."

"Where's Joe?" Nancy asked, her voice muffled by Frank's neck.

"Went to go get some pizza." Frank answered, as he rubbed his hand up and down her back slowly.

"Why?" she asked, looking at him in confusion. She glanced at her watch. 3:02.

"Hungry." Frank answered again

"We ate at 1:00" she said, leaning back into him.

"He's Joe." Frank put his hand on the back of her head, gently holding it to his chest.

"Frank?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

Frank smiled and kissed the top of her head. He would never get tired of hearing her say that. "I love you, too."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**AN: OMG! I am sooooooooooo sorry for not updating! It's been over a month! I guess I have been so focused on CSU over at SIYE, it just slipped my mind. Ok, so it MIGHT seem a bit rushed but, oh well. Here it is! The first quarter of the end…aka there's about three chapters left. REVIEW!!!...**

**Thursday, November 18. 10:28 am.**

The weather was gloomy, and there was light snow falling as the trio drove along the highway the next day. Nancy sighed, her mood as gloomy as the weather. It was Thursday, so they had only two more days to find Ferall. The thoughts that filled her head were determined ones, but she knew if something was going to happen, it had better happen soon.

The car was silent, as Frank and Joe's thoughts were very similar to Nancy's, so they all jumped when Frank's cell-phone started ringing in the form of a jazzy tune.

"Hello?" he answered sharply. "This is he. Really? Of course. Hang on." Frank rummaged around, grabbing napkin and pen. "Ok. Good. But why didn't-?" There was a long pause. "Oh. I understand. Thank you. Have a nice day."

"What was that about?" Nancy asked, as Frank switched to and exiting lane sharply.

"That was the River Heights PD. One of their officers spotted the car and followed it. He gave me the address to the place that it stopped." Frank said, his eyes on the road while handing Nancy the napkin.

"Well why didn't the cop to something?" Joe asked from the back seat.

"Kevin or Paul, whichever it was, must have seen the officer in the mirror. The cop stayed a couple cars behind the car but when he turned down the street to the warehouse, there were no more cars to cover him. So, when the cop looked down to grab his receiver, the guy sped off. The cop would have chased him, but he needed to report everything he saw and write down the address."

Nancy and Joe nodded in understanding.

"But where are we going now?" Joe asked, as they had just been headed towards Nancy's house to talk to Hannah.

"Police station to talk to Chief McGinnis and Detective Jones." Frank's answered, pulling onto the street that would take them back to the police station.

Once again, the car was silent as they drove. They made the short drive within five minutes, and got out of the car. Chief and Detective Jones were waiting for them, so it wasn't long before the three detectives were sitting across from them in the Chief's office.

"Are you planning on telling us what this is all about?" Chief McGinnis asked Frank, Joe, and Nancy.

"Sir, usually we would, but this is a very…confidential case. We can't tell you at the risk of the wrong person finding out." Joe explained earnestly, resting his elbows on his knees, clasping his hands together, and looking the Chief in his eyes.

Chief McGinnis looked a bit suspicious. "Very well, but I am still going to send a couple of officers to watch the-."

"Chief, please! We can't have that! This is a private case, and if the wrong person finds out…" Nancy let the sentence hang in the air as the four men looked at her in shock because of her desperate tone.

The silence in the office was thick and awkward as they waited for Chief McGinnis's reaction to Nancy's plea. He looked at her for a long time. His eyes narrowed, not in anger, but in searching way that made Nancy wonder if he was figuring out what the case was.

"Very well." The Chief said, sitting back in his chair and relaxing his features, making his face unreadable.

"Thank you, Sir." Nancy said, as relief filled her voice.

Chief McGinnis looked at Detective Jones and the seemed to communicate silently. Detective Jones nodded and looked at the trio. "I'm sorry, but I must be off now." He said, standing up from his chair to shake Frank, Joe, and Nancy's hands.

"That's fine, detective." Chief McGinnis said, standing up himself. "We should all get going." The professionals led Frank, Nancy, and Joe out of the office, and into the cold outside.

"What's the plan?" Joe asked from the back seat of the car, rubbing his hands together to warm them up.

"Well…I'm thinking the warehouse. Right?" Frank asked, starting the engine and looking at his brother in the rear-view mirror.

After they both agreed without hesitation, Frank put the car in drive and headed to the warehouse

ooO0Ooo

"You sure you have the right place, Frank?" Joe asked his brother as they pulled onto a little street in downtown River Heights and stopped at a gray brick building.

"This is it." Frank said, pulling the car behind a dumpster and turning it off.

Nancy got out of the car and looked around. The little street was lined with small brick houses and a worn-out park. Two men dressed in sweats and jeans were sitting in the park talking, and two little girls played jump rope in the driveway of one of the houses. A dog barked in the distance.

Frank came up behind her. "You OK?" he asked softly.

She turned around and gave him a soft kiss. "Yeah. Now let's do this."

ooO0Ooo

They waited for hours before the car came. They watched silently from behind the dumpster. Thankfully, the sun had moved, so they were now in the shade.

Paul Ferall stepped out of the car. He looked around so as to see if anyone was around other than the two men talking. He looked in the shadows, but didn't seem to see the trio. After Paul walked into the building, Nancy turned to the brothers.

"I'm going in." She said. "You stay here and keep watch."

Frank and Joe's protests were immediate.

"No way!"

"Not happening."

"Why?" Nancy asked annoyed.

"Nancy." Frank and Joe started at the same time. They looked at each other and Joe continued.

"Nance, we can't let you go in alone. Both of these guys have committed murder, and one of them, rape. You are the strongest girl I know, but even you can't hold off both of them."

"Yeah." Frank said. "We both love you. Joe, not in the same way as me, but we both love you. We can't let you go in alone." His tone left no room for argument.

'Fine." She said. "But one of you has to stay here. I don't care which one."

"Nancy, there's no point. Unless they just left your dad alone while Paul went of in the car, and Kevin on foot, then no one is coming." Joe said.

"Fine." Nancy sounded resigned. "Let's go, then."

They decided to go in the same way Paul did, so they walked around to the side of the building. Nancy pushed the door open slowly and silently, and the three stepped in. The main floor was empty and smelled musky.

They walked to the stairs about thirty feet away and climbed them silently. The second floor was the same, but as they walked up to the third floor, they could see someone sitting on the ground. The third floor was different in other ways also. The room was narrower, and had two doors on either side.

"I'll start checking the rooms." Frank said.

The person on the other side of the room grunted and seemed to wake up. He lifted his head and gasped. "Nancy?"

"Dad!" Nancy cried. She started toward her father, but stopped in her tracks as the farthest door on her right opened. Paul and Kevin Ferall stepped out. Both were tall and had slightly square faces. Nancy couldn't exactly see them very well in the dim light.

"I don't think so." The voice of Kevin Ferall rang out in the room. "Well, well, well. Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. You think you figured out the case? Come here to save the day? I think not."

A deep raspy voice similar to Kevin's filled the room. "I'm curious, though. How did you find out?"

"We're smart. Your not." Frank said.

As Frank bantered back in forth with the Feralls, Nancy's mind raced. Her dad stared at her. His eyes told her not to move, but she did what she rarely did and ignored him. She needed to figure out a way to get to her dad. They were still almost thirty feet away from him, so there was no way for her to get there without them noticing, but maybe if they were paying attention the Frank… A loud shout broke her thoughts.

"ENOUGH!" Kevin shouted. He looked at Nancy. "I know all your tricks, Drew. Don't even think about moving. Paul, keep your eye on her. Anyway. Let's make this simple." He motioned to Paul. Paul walked towards the three, but angled towards Nancy.

"Nancy!" Carson shouted.

As Paul got closer to Nancy, Frank stepped in front of her.

"If you touch her…" He let the threat hang. Even though Frank stood at six-two, Paul towered over him.

Paul laughed at Frank, but stepped down none the less. He walked back towards his brother, who was now behind the the Hardys and standing at the staircase.

'Oh well." Said Kevin. "Doesn't matter. That wasn't our plan anyway. Let's go." He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out…a hand grenade.

"Where in hell did he get an effin' hand grenade?" Joe shouted to no one in particular.

Kevin laughed a cruel laugh as he pulled the pin and threw the grenade. It soared in the air and landed about fifteen feet away from Carson.

**OOOOOOO! Cliffy...welll, kinda'. Please review **

**E  
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	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

As Kevin and Paul tore down the stairs, Nancy knew they had mere seconds to get out of this. They were still at least twenty-five feet away from her father.

She barely registered it as she saw her father stand up and run…towards the grenade? _No! He wasn't--! _"Dad! No!" She screamed. She started toward her father but Frank pulled her down to the ground, shielding her body with his own.

The explosion wasn't as loud as she had thought it was going to be, but the force of it still pulsed through the room. After the explosion sound stopped though, the room was far from quiet.

As Frank rolled off of her, she could see that the general area where the grenade went off was a total wreck. The walls were black and crumbling, and the ceiling looked like it was going to collapse. Other than that, it didn't do a whole lot of damage. "Why didn't it do more dam--?" Nancy began to ask, but stopped.

Lying where the grenade was set off was what was left of a body. Peaces of it were scattered about, as were ashes. _Dad!_

The rest of the night was a blur to Nancy.

She remembered the police thundering up the stairs. She remembered Chief, Frank and Joe helping her through a statement while she sobbed uncontrollably. She remembered exiting the building, practically being carried by Frank, and entering into the bitter cold of a Chicago winter. Bess and George had ran to them, but the conversation wasn't forming in Nancy's mind.

She sat now on her bed, the next morning, tears already falling, though they were slow. She knew she couldn't do this. She knew she had to be strong. She stopped crying.

As she got dressed for the day, she continued to be strong. As she put her makeup on, she continued to be strong. But, as she walked out into the small living room of her apartment and saw the pictures of her and her father, she stopped being strong. The tears came again. She wasn't sobbing as she was last night, but the tears came steadily.

Two strong arms wrapped around her waist, and she instantly felt better. Not a lot, but enough to slow the tears and stop the sobs she was sure were coming. She didn't have to turn to know who it was. She breathed in his scent and felt instantly calmer.

"Nan," Frank said. "I know it's early but we have an appointment at eleven with your father's lawyer."

Nancy turned around in his arms and looked at him confusedly through her puffy eyes. "_My father's lawyer_?"

Franks shrugged. "I don't know why he would have one, but...unless, well...I wouldn't want to write up my own will either."

Nancy's eyes lost their emotion. She looked at him sadly before closing her eyes and nodding. "I agree." she said softly. "I guess I should go and make myself presentable again." She managed a small smile, but somehow there was sadness in this, too.

She left Frank's embrace and walked back down the small hallway and into her bathroom, shutting the door behind her. Frank could hear the sink start to run as he walked into the apartment's small kitchen. He sat at the counter, staring at the open pantry, but not wanting anything to eat.

He didn't know how long he had been sitting like that when he was distracted by the door to the apartment opened. He turned to see Bess, George, and Joe entering. they had spent the night in Nancy's apartment also, but had left earlier, for Joe, to get food, and for Bess and George, change their clothes.

After a chorus of hello's had subsided, Bess asked the question Frank knew they had all been wondering.

"How is she, Frank?"

Frank lifted his eyes to meet Bess'. "Better. And worse."

The met each others' gazes, silently mourning for a man that they all had considered a second father. For a man that had given his life to save theirs.

**A/N: OMG!! It has been almost 9 months since I've updated! I hope you haven't given up on me. I am soooooooo sorry! My laptop 100 crashed! It took me a while, but I've finally got off my broke butt and bought a new one. Now, relating to the chapter, please don't kill me!! No FLames!! Also, I would really like at least 10 reviews before I update! We're almost at the end!! PS. Yes. I know...cheesy ending. But at least I updated, right?**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**AN: Tear-jearker alert!! At least that was my intention ;)**

Nancy braced herself and squeezed Frank's hand as she reached forward, opening the old wooden door with a nameplate that read "K. R. Rup, Attorney at Law."

They entered an old, but polished-looking waiting room. The walls were a dark

reddish-brown color, and there were about ten cushioned wooden chairs sitting along the left wall. There was a receptionist's window on the right wall, along with a large swinging door and a small television. Nancy and Frank walked over to the receptionist's window.

"Can I help you?" A young blond receptionist asked with a genuine-looking smile.

"Yes, I'm Nancy Drew. I have an appointment at eleven to speak to Mr. Rup about my father's will." As she said this, Nancy glanced behind the receptionist's head, noting that it was 10:50.

"Ok." The receptionist replied. "I'll let Mr. Rup know you're here. My name is Sarah if you need anything."

Nancy and Frank sat down in silence.

After at least five minutes in silence, Nancy began "What do you think it says?" Nancy asked, her voice coming out slightly shaky. She looked at Frank, expecting an answer.

He stared at her with a look that told Nancy he was trying to find the right thing to say.

"Well," he sighed. "We'll just have to--." But Frank was cut off when a man who looked to be about thirty years old entered the waiting room through the door next do the receptionist.

"Ms. Drew?" he asked.

Nancy and Frank stood up to greet the man.

"'Hello," The man said, shaking Nancy's hand. "I am Kevin Rup, your father's will executor and attorney." After greeting Frank, Kevin led them through the door and down a wide, scarcely decorated hallway.

Kevin was a tall man with short black hair and brown eyes,



They stopped and entered through double-doors into Kevin's office. This room was painted a medium- dark green color and contained bookshelves, a couch set, a coffee table, and a large mahogany desk that sat in a corner. The room looked more like a living room that a lawer's office.

Kevin gestured for Nancy and Frank to sit down on the large couch as he sat down on the love seat. "First," Kevin said. "I just want to tell you that I had become very close to your father, and deeply grieve for your loss."

Nancy smiled a small smile of thanks as Kevin pulled out a thick file and cardboard box, and set them on the coffee table between Frank and Nancy and himself.

"I think we should just get right to it." Kevin tore the clear masking tape off of the cardboard box and said, "Your father had given me these when I first wrote this up for him. He said he wouldn't want them to not be found in the event of his passing."

Nancy nodded, her face blank now, and Frank put an arm comfortingly around her waist.

Kevin opened the file folder, and lifted up Carson's will. Nancy stared at it. Just seeing it made everything feel so real, but at the same time, she felt detached from her body, as if she were watching a movie of her own life. Slow, silent tears made their way down Nancy's cheeks as Kevin began talking again.

"Your father wishes for 90 of all the money he has, to be given to you. The remaining 10 should be split evenly between your housekeeper Hannah Gruen—who, your father says, has saved him since your mother passed by taking care of everything and always being there to listen, or kick him to his feet when he needed it—and the Change for the Children Foundation, which helps terminally ill children and researches cures for those diseases, especially diabetes."

Nancy nodded.

"Everything else…the house, the cars, his possessions, are to be left to you. He wants you to do what ever you feel is necessary with them. However, this specifically," Kevin gestured to the brown cardboard box still sitting on the table between them. "Is not to be sold or given away. He was sure you woudn't, but thought it best for me to tell you specifically." Kevin pushed the box towards Nancy. "That's really it."

**.**

Nancy sat in the living room of her father's house. Well, _her_ house, she guessed. The house where she had grown up. The house where all her favorite childhood memories were. _Her_ house. That sounded weird to Nancy, and she knew she would never get used to it.

Frank was seated beside her. The cardboard box was on the coffee table in front of the sofa they shared. Hannah was in the kitchen, cooking away her sorrow, but other than the occasional clanking of pots, the house was silent.

Nancy stared at the box as if it were from another planet.

"Nan," Frank said in a low voice. "Are you going to open it?" he asked. He meant the question seriously, because Nancy had already been staring at it for half an hour, and he knew she hadn't eaten all day.

She looked at him, startled, as if a trance had been broken. "What?" She asked.

"The box." He tilted the head toward the coffee table.

"Oh, yeah." She stared at it again, but then caught herself. Slowly reaching forward, she pulled the box closer to her at a torturingly slow speed. She sat the box on her lap and looked up at Frank with a scared expression in her eyes. He nodded. Slowly, she lifted up the flaps, and reached inside, without even looking in. She held her breath as her hand found the first object, which turned out to be a piece of paper. Looking down at it, she saw her father's handwriting. Her eye's locked with Frank's for a brief second, before she read the note aloud.

"'_My dearest Nancy,_

_I am going to take the risk of sounding cliché when I say, if you are reading this, I have passed. First, I just want to say that I don't want you to be miserable. I know it is unavoidable for you to be sad (or so I would hope), but know that even though your mother passed at such a young age, my life was wonderful. You made my life wonderful, even if you scared me half to death every time you were in the middle of one of your mysteries._

_I guess I never lived to see you marry, because I planned to give you these things on your wedding day….unless as I went senile, I forgot about this—which I hope isn't the case. _

_All of theese things were your mothers. You are so much like her Nancy. Her stubornness, her courage, her refusal to ask for help until it was imperative she do so…her kindness, her sense of humor…..all have been passed on to you. How I pray for the man who marries you. _

_As you go through these things of hers, you will discover things about her that I have never told you...if only because I didn't want to encourage you._

_I love you very much Nancy. I only pray that I'm with your mother right now._

_I will love you forever,_

_Dad'" _Nancy barely managed to choke out the last word before she started crying.

Frank pulled her close and let her cry on his shoulder as long as she needed to. As the tears finally stopped, Nancy pulled away from fFrank, actually laughing as she wiped away her tears.

"Look at me!" she said, managing to sustain a small smile. "I'm a wreck."



Nancy looked into the box, pulling out what was next. She was speechless as she saw what it was. A white, beautifully beaded tiara, attached to layers of short, white mesh. Her mother's wedding veil. Nancy slowly unfolded it, admiring the hand-crafted beauty. As she did this, something dropped onto her lap. She looked down and saw a small, velvet ring box. She drew in a sharp breath, knowing what it was. Handing the veil to Frank, she opened the small box slowly. The ring was beautiful. There was a large, princess-cut diamond in the center, sitting on a golden band that had small rubies all around it. Frank whistled.

"Wow!" Nancy breathed. She could just imaging being proposed to with this ring. She knew her father must have payed a fortune for this. Even though the ring was over twenty years old, it still sparkled as if had left the jewler's yesterday…of course, being in the box must've helped, but it was still amazing.

Nancy slowly closed the box and paused a second before setting it down on her lap. She looked at Frank, and they shared a look of wonder. He shook his head in amazement.

"What else is there?" He asked softly.

"I don't know." Nancy said, looking into the box again.

Then, her face froze.

"What is it?" Frank asked, worried.

Nancy brought her left hand to her mouth in shock, shaking her head as she lifted the next object out of the box with her right.

"Oh my God." Frank whispered.

In her hand, Nancy held an antique magnifying glass with her mother's name engraved on the handle. A bobby pin was pinned to a flat piece of metal between the actual glass and the handle…a very handy place for a hasty lock pick.

Nancy closed her eyes, a wave of closer passing through her. Just knowing that her mother….that she had passed on to Nancy this passion, this love…..it was amazing.

"Why didn't he tell me?"

**AN: this was the last official chapter. :(**** I felt this was where I needed to end this. There will be some sort of epilogue, but somehow, if I had continued on this chapter as I had originally planned, I wouldn't have the same satisfaction and pride I now have for this story. Nancy's realization about her mother and the closer she gets from that…..I couldn't have done any justice to her feelings as a mere author. So that will have to be left to your own personal experience and imagination.**

**I'll leave it at that. But FYI, I have never been to the reading of a will, which, I know, is a blessing, so I do not know exactly how things work.**

**I would really like to know what you want me to do. I will definitely write more… but I don't know whether to just do an epilogue, or a whole sequel. I don't think it will be a sequel, because as an author, I feel this 'universe' per-say has ended. But I still want to know what you have to say.**

**Thank you all so much for all the reviews. Ending this is like ending a whole chapter of my life (no pun intended ;)****). Hopefully, a new one will begin very soon.**

**Thank You**

**Emeralds and Rubies**


	11. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Nancy sat on the vanity stool. Her hands shook slightly as they supported her head, elbows resting on her knees. Her nervous mind whirled as she thought of what she was about to do. She had prepared for this moment for months now, but she still didn't know exactly what to expect. She just knew it was right. Not only was it the right thing to do, it was the one thing she had only allowed herself to dream about for three years, though she knew she had thought of it before then. She thought of a night, about seven months ago.

_They sat on the beach of Lake Michigan. Nancy loved coming here with Frank. This is where they had gone after their first official date as a couple. They had sat there talking as the sun set._

_Nancy smiled at Frank as she stuck her bare feet deep into the sand, wiggling her toes. It was their two year anniversary of officially being a couple. "Your quiet," Nancy observed, looking at Frank fondly. "Spill."_

_Frank stared of into the ocean-like lake for a few seconds, his eyes shining in the setting sun, before speaking. "Nancy, you know how much I love you, right?" He turned his head toward her, looking at her with what looked like a mix of fear and hesitation in his eyes._

_Nancy didn't even answer the question. "Frank Hardy, that was a break-up line, You tell me right now if you are breaking up with me." Fear was written all over her face, while his face quickly turned to shock._

"_Nancy! No! That came out wrongly," he said in a rush he slowed down as much as he could. "What I meant was that I want you know how much I love you."_

_Nancy looked relieved as she smiled, though she still didn't know exactly where this was going….unless….._holy crap! Was he--?_ She tried not to let her thoughts show._

"_I love you so much, Nancy." He continued. "You mean absolutely everything to me. You are the most wonderful, smart, caring, beautiful person in the world. I love you. So much that it hurts."_

"_I love you too, Frank. I fell the same exact way." She internally laughed at herself for sounding so cliché._

"_I….." He stopped. "I guess…. What I'm trying to say is…" He paused, taking a deep breath. He moved so that he was no longer beside her, but in front of her. He kneeled down and reached into the pocket of his khaki's, pulling out a velvet …_gulp_… ring box. "Nancy, will you marry me?"_

_Tears slid down her face as she whispered 'yes' even before he could open the box to show her the ring. "Yes," she said, louder this time. "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!"_

_He slid a gorgeous golden, three-diamond ring onto her finger before standing up and kissing her. He hugged her tight, and did the most over-used thing ever and spun her around in the air._

_She laughed before kissing him passionately, but briefly. They pulled apart, just enough for them to admire Nancy's left hand._

"_I would have proposed with your mom's." Frank said. He laughed. "But I was so scared already, and I didn't want you to think I was cheap."_

_Nancy laughed at the expression on Frank's face. He looked like a five-year-old who was just told Christmas was going to be celebrated every week. _

Nancy had begun to think of her life in two eras. B.F. and W.F. .. Before Frank, and With Frank. (Joe had thought it would just be hil-ar-i-ous to start calling the With Frank era the With The Frank era…for obvious reasons.) After she had told this Bess and George, she had suffered from weeks of merciless teasing, but she knew they agreed with her. Anyone who didn't know Nancy that well, would say that Nancy was the same person now that she was then…apart from maybe smiling a little more often. But anyone who really knew her would be able to tell exactly how different she had become. Yes, she smiled more and was generally happy more of the time, but now she was more secure with her life….and herself. Nancy no longer had to feel guilty when she worked into the night on her latest case. Frank was never overprotective to the extreme level as Ned had been. He knew Nancy could protect herself, though he was always concerned, but he learned only to say "be careful" when Nancy was in a particularly 'case-adrenaline-rush' mood…and sometimes not even then. Frank never expected something from Nancy, and Nancy no longer put pressure on herself to be the perfect girlfriend, which had relieved a lot of unneeded stress.

But, Nancy had discovered that the person who was able to describe it best was the person from which she had least expected it.

_Nancy and Joe were in the office, though they weren't working. Firstly, because they didn't have a case, but secondly, because even if they did, they were too famished to concentrate on anything but their stomachs. For Joe, this was common, but this happening to Nancy (and Frank, for that matter) was rare. Frank had been elected to make a McDonald's run, and Joe and Nancy waited anxiously for his return._

"_Where is he?" Joe slammed his hand on his desk in impatience. "I'm starving!"_

"_You are hardly starving, Joe." Nancy said, laughing at her future brother-in-law. "Frank probably forgot my oh-so-complicated order." She giggled, and answered her ringing cell without checking the caller ID._

"_Nan?" Frank's soft, deep voice asked._

_Nancy quickly hit speakerphone, trying to contain her laughter. "Yeah?"_

"_Did you order the Happy-Meal with a hamburger and coke?"_

_Joe fell off of his chair as he succumbed to the giant burst of laughter that had overcome him._

_Nancy managed only to let out a giggle. "Cheese-burger and sprite." she laughed into the phone._

"_I'm glad I called then." She could hear the smile in his voice. "And a cheese-burger happy meal with a sprite." He added. His voice was not directly in the phone so Nancy knew that he was adding that to his order. "Why is Joe laughing? Am I on speaker?"_

"_Yes."_

"_What's so funny about me asking what you ordered?"_

_Nancy smiled. "Um…It's an inside joke. I'll tell you later when I can see your face! Love you!" She hung up and broke into the fit of laughter that had been threatening to consume her._

_The future-siblings continued to laugh for a good five minutes longer before coming to their senses._

_Joe looked at Nancy with a loving expression. "You really love him."_

_Nancy looked at him in his place lying down on the floor. "You just figured that out?" She asked incredulously._

"_No! You can just see it in the way you light up when you talk about him or to him. __**That**__ I just figured out."_

_Nancy smiled and rolled her eyes at him. They were lost in their own thoughts until Joe spoke again. "Do you ever think about Ned?"_

_Nancy thought it over. "Rarely….why?"_

"_I don't know….." There was another pause. "The way Ned 'loved' you never made sense to me."_

"_Well that made _perfect _sense!" She laughed._

"_Well, I don't know. I heard once, and it was probably said by some famous person I've never even heard of, though It could've just been dad… I don't know. Anyway it was something like 'love someone for who they are, not in spite of it.' You are a detective, you love mysteries, and, correct me if I'm wrong, but Ned always seemed to act like he didn't like that part of you, he still 'loved' you, but he _suffered_ because of that part of who you are."_

"_You're right." Nancy nodded. She had never thought of it that way, but it pretty much hit the nail on the head._

"_And Frank…." Joe rolled is eyes. "He just worships the ground you walk on! He just loves ev-ry li-ttle bit of you! He is so insanely blinded by his love for you…." Joe looked at her. "Don't tell him I said this, but it just amazes me some times!"_

"_Joe, you can be the same exact way."_

_Joe smiled at the memory of Iola. "Yeah. I guess." Pause. "So what did we learn today? Love someone for who they are, not in spite of it." Joe talked as if he were addressing a bunch of pre-school-ers."_

_They both were still laughing when Frank finally returned._

Nancy turned around as Bess and George entered the small, cozy dressing room. George was dressed in mid-calf length, light blue dress, while Bess was in a royal blue one. After Nancy had announced her engagement to them, she had wanted to make them co Maid of Honor's but George refused, saying Bess would handle things much better than she would and was completely satisfied with being a normal bride's maid. Bess squealed. "Nancy! I'm so excited! Where is Hannah? I thought she said she was going to help you start to get ready before we got here!"

Nancy giggled at her friend's enthusiasm as she stood up to give them hugs. "Relax, Bess!" Nancy said, smiling. "She just forgot my--!"

Nancy was cut off as Hannah returned. "I got your veil Nancy!" she said. "Bess, George! I'm glad you are here. You can help me with this." In no time, they had the shoulder-length veil attached securely to Nancy's head. All four women gasped as they looked at Nancy's image in a floor-length mirror.

Nancy's veil was of course, her mother's. It rested on the bun of the up-do style her hair was in, which was only possible because of its longer than normal length. The veil was shoulder length, the headpiece being a small tiara, hand-beaded beautifully in white beads. Her dress looked breath-taking. Floor-length and flowing, it fitted beautifully. The dress was completely strapless. It had a beaded lace corset bodice, draped skirt with a beaded lace inset, a split back, and a chapel-style train. Nancy's hands were clad in long and silky white gloves.

"Oh, my!" Bess whispered.

George walked up to Nancy and gave her a huge hug, shortly followed by Bess and Hannah.

"You are so beautiful!" Hannah said as the group broke apart. She wiped away a forming tear. "You look just like your mother!"

A tear formed in Nancy's eye that she quickly wiped away, not wanting to ruin the makeup Hannah had caked onto her face. She gave Hannah one last hug before walking over to the small vanity in the corner of the room where she had previously been sitting. She gently picked up the bouquet of pink-with-yellow-tips roses.

...

Nancy stood at the top of the aisle, waiting for her entrance. She had to admit that she was a bit frightened, but knew the feeling would pass.

Bess had just walked down the isle, and Nancy knew she was next. She nervously ran her hand over her hair, and was instantly calmed by the feeling of her mother's veil. She knew her mother was with her…they both were. As she music changed, Nancy slowly opened the doors in front of her, entering the beautiful church.

Her eyes immediately locked with Frank's, and all her nervousness disappeared. She smiled radiantly at him. Today was the first day of the rest of their lives. Together. She was going to be absolutely fine.

**A/N: So that was it! A bit cheesy, but weddings always are. I would really like to thank everyone who has ever reviewed! They have really helped me finish this story! And to those of you who have never reviewed, I would love for you to just leave a review now. Tell me how you felt about the story has a whole! Thank you to everyone who has been with me from the beginning… even through that 9 months I didn't update! You all have heard my excuses so I won't repeat them ****J! Anyway, you can expect to me reading some of my new work soon…..though I don't have any ideas yet ;).**

**Thank YOU!!**

**Emeralds and Rubies**

**Ps. IDK what is going on with DeanParker and the prequel…..she hasn't updated in a LONG time!! And hopefully, she's reading this and will get the message ;) !! Anyway, it called **_**Past is **__**Dead, Present Stalked, Future Unknown… **_**check it out and review….maybe she'll update!**

**Thanx Again,**

**Emeralds and Rubies**


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